Microsoft Lumia 550 official: What's the story?

Microsoft has taken to the stage at its October 2015 launch event to unveil a wide range of Windows 10 hardware. We've seen the launch of the new Lumia 950 and 950 XL smartphones, buy they are joined by a more affordable entry-level handset, the Lumia 550.

Here's everything you need to know about the Lumia 550 and we'll update the details as more are released.

Microsoft Lumia 550 design and build

The Lumia 550, much like the other handsets in the Lumia family appears similarly simple. Typically Lumia handsets use a polycarbonate build and this handset appears to follow that trend for a plastic feel to the rear of the casing. The Lumia 550 measures 136.1 x 67.8 x 9.9mm and it weighs 141.9g.

The Lumia 550 is available in black and white colours. The handset looks to follow in the stylings of the Lumia 640, the handset released earlier in 2015, although tracing the numbering logic through Microsoft's mid-range phones can sometimes be a challenge.

Microsoft Lumia 550 hardware specs

Microsoft didn't reveal all the specs of the Lumia 550 during the presentation in NYC, but we've rounded up those from previous leaks.

The Microsoft Lumia 550 will come with a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 display, making for 315ppi, which actually sounds fairly reasonable, especailly given the price that this handset will be available for.

The display should come topped with Gorilla Glass 3 to keep it safe from scratches.

Powering the device will be a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor and 1GB of RAM. This features a 1.1GHz quad-core Cortex A7 CPU. The handset will also be Cat 4 LTE connected for download speeds of up to 150Mbps, with Microsoft say that the 550 is its most affordable 4G handset yet.

Internal storage is only 8GB, but there is the option to expand that using microSD up to 200GB.

Powering everything will be a 2100mAh battery.

Microsoft Lumia 550 cameras

The Lumia 550 will come with 5-megapixel and 2-megapixel cameras, which very much mark this out as an entry level device it is. The rear camera has an LED flash.

Windows 10 has already shown off what can be expected from Lumia cameras. Microsoft has already said it will be reducing the number of camera apps on Windows Phone meaning no more Lumia Storyteller, Lumia Beamer, Lumia Refocus and more.

Microsoft Lumia 550 pricing

We don't use the word cheap often, but this phone really is going to be just that. In a good way.

The Lumia 550 will cost just $139 when it launches in December. Pricing outside the US is still to be confirmed.